Lucy Strangward, nee Campbell 1853- 1936

Lucy Campbell was the daughter of Joseph Campbell and Harriet Scotney. She grew up in Huntingdon but we know very little of her early life.

Lucy always wore black and dark coloured long dresses and was fond of black jet beads. She also liked large ornate hats and had her hats re-trimmed at the milliners each year.  The family were not incredibly poor but they were a long way from being well-off. Despite this she seems to have fed them well and, later, when her sons Herbert and Arthur moved to Suffolk, she would send parcels at Christmas with cake and liquorice allsorts.

More memories

Although neither Leslie Strangward or Anne Senior ever remembers Lucy laughing or having any fun, her obituary in the Pontefract and Castleford Advertiser tells how she was always in good spirits.

Lucy used to bake everyday wearing a clean, starched white apron and was a stickler for tidiness.

When her grandson, Richard Wilcock was born in March 1935, Lucy came to stay at the family home, 25 Park Lane, for about 6 weeks. She rapped Anne Wilcock (Richard's elder sister) over the head with a comb and said

‘How do you expect your head to be tidy inside if its not tidy outside?’

Marriage to Thomas Strangward  

Lucy married Thomas Strangward on February 11, 1875, in St Mary's and St Benedict's Church, Huntingdon. Their first child, a son, Charles Frederick Strangward, was born in June of the same year, indicating that Lucy was pregnant at the time of her marriage but that didn't stop her adopting an attitude of high morality later in life. She was well known for looking down on 'that sort of thing'.

Lucy's marriage to Thomas lasted  for 55 years. Initially, they lived in their home town of Huntingdon but, in the early 1880s they were forced to move north to find work. The early years of their marriage were full of hardship  

Memories of Lucy

Ronald Strangward, Lucy's grandson, remembers....

"When her son Oliver swore prolifically, Lucy used to berate him in her soft Huntingdonshire accent but he would say ‘They’re only words.’

She used to visit Herbert and Arthur and made no secret of the fact that Herbert was her favourite child. Although she used to go initially to Herbert at the Ship Inn in Lowestoft, there was not really room for her there and she would end up at Arthur’s house. Arthur’s wife didn't relish these visits, as Lucy was often tactless, insisting that the only reason she was there was to see Herbert. Once, Lucy stayed with Arthur’s family for 13 weeks, but most visits were shorter".

Lucy's death

Lucy Strangward, nee Campbell died at home in Weeland Terrace, Pontefract on 20th August 1936. Anne Senior remembers that she had been visiting Herbert when she asked to go home suddenly. She travelled back to Pontefract that same day and was found to have died in her sleep the next morning.

Her death entry in the Pontefract and Castleford Express was brief…

Lucy Strangward August 20th at 2, Weeland Terrance, Old Church, Pontefract, widow of Mr Thomas Strangward, aged 82 years. Was interred Pontefract Cemetary August 22nd (Saturday). …

but she had a longer obituary of the week in the Pontefract and Castleford Advertiser…

Pontefract and Castleford Advertisor: Thurs Aug 27th 1936: This week’s obituary:

Mrs L Strangward One who was for many years a resident of Pontefract and well-known in All Saints District was Mrs Lucy Strangward who died on Thursday at the age of 82 years. Mrs Strangward’s death was comparatively unexpected as she had always enjoyed excellent health and was usually in the best of spirits. She was a widow, her husband, who worked at the CWS Fellmongering dept., having died several years ago, but she leaves a large family. Mrs Strangward came to Pontefract from Hunstanton* and had lived in the town for the greater part of her life. She was buried on Saturday at Pontefract Cemetary.

*Although the obituary says Hunstanton, Lucy was from Huntingdon. Lucy is buried in Pontefract Cemetery with Thomas but the grave has no stone to mark it. It may have originally had a wooden cross and is near to the grave of her son Albert Thomas Strangward and his wife Emily.